The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, is proceeding with the cause for beatification of Maryknoll Father Vincent Robert Capodanno and is asking people who knew the priest during his short stay in the Islands to come forward and provide further information about him for possible beatification.
Father Capodanno was born Feb. 13, 1929, in Richmond County, N.Y. He entered the Maryknoll Seminary in 1949 and was ordained on June 14, 1958. His first missionary assignment was Taiwan. After seven years, in March, 1965, he was sent to Hong Kong. In July, he asked his superiors for permission to volunteer as a military chaplain in Vietnam, with the Marine Corps. His request was granted on Aug. 13, 1965.
Father Capodanno served in Hawaii afterward for four months while awaiting the completion of background checks. He arrived in Honolulu on Aug. 23, 1965, for commissioning. He later went to the Big Island to assist Maryknoll Father Joseph Matheis, pastor of Annunciation Parish, Waimea, and Annunciation Mission, Puako. An entry in Annunciation’s baptismal record shows the visiting priest celebrated a baptism on Christmas Day, 1965.
Father Capodanno was sworn in as a Navy lieutenant of the Chaplain Corps on Dec. 28, 1965, in Honolulu.
If you can provide information on Father Capodanno’s time in Hawaii, contact the Archdiocese for the Military Services at (202) 719-3600.
